The present invention concerns a device for retaining a glass fenestration composed of separate glass structural-section components, especially glass U-section components, or of other longitudinal, especially insulating, glass components. The invention also concerns a retaining rail that can be employed in such a retaining device.
Glass fenestrations composed of longitudinal glass components, glass structural-section components for example, are often employed for the large-area glazing of such buildings as gymnasiums, factories, free-standing staircases, houses, and commercial structures. The fenestrations are often secured by metal structural section in the opening that is to be fenestrated. Especially when a fenestration is insulating, as in the case of a hollow glass structural-section brick for example, water will at the current state of the art occasionally condense inside it and be almost impossible to remove.
The object of the present invention is to effectively prevent such condensation within a glass fenestration.
The device for retaining a glass fenestration composed of separate glass structural-section components, especially glass U-section components, or of other longitudinal, especially insulating, glass components is accordingly characterized by at least one retaining rail for retaining and bearing and for the lateral guidance and support of the individual longitudinal glass component, glass structural-section component, or glass fenestration, whereby the retaining rail is provided on the one hand with a retaining length of structural section of metal for retaining or supporting a face-side area or part of a face side area of the glass fenestration or one, more, or all of its glass components or glass structural-section components and on the other hand with at least one length of metal flange for the lateral guidance and support of the glass fenestration and/or of one, more or all of its individual glass components or glass structural-section components. Since the length of flange and the retaining section are fastened together by a heat-insulating and/or thermally separating connecting fixture, not only will a reliable bearing or retaining of the glass fenestration be ensured, but the lengths themselves, which are to individually retained, will be thermally separated. The face side areas, which the retaining rails comprise, will not be subject to the undesirable climatological effects of heat bridge-over. Surprisingly, this feature will in turn not only effectively prevent the accumulation of condensed water inside the glass fenestration and the penetration of water thereinto, but the retaining rail will also contribute to the fenestration""s insulating effect due to the absence of heat bridging at its retainer.
Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are addressed in the subsidiary claims.
Glass fenestrations of glass structural-section components, especially glass U-section components, are known from Europe Patent 0742324A1, which specific reference will be made to in its entirety for further details as to the design of glass fenestrations. The glass structural U-section components of the glass fenestration known therefrom, however, are to be oriented vertical rather than horizontal. There are accordingly no problems with statics or with installation in a building. Problems do occur, however, when glass structural-section components are to be installed horizontal in that the lowermost component must support the weight of the ones above it.
A retaining device of the aforesaid genus is accordingly of advantage in horizontal glass fenestrations of horizontal glass structural-section components to secure each glass structural-section component individually and ensure that the lower components will need to support no more weight than the upper components do.
Another retaining device for retaining glass structural-components is known from German 29809177 U1, FIG. 4. This device features horizontal retainers mounted against a wall on bases. This device is accordingly appropriate only for fastening cladding in the form of glass structural-section components, components with L-shaped cross-sections, that is, to a wall, and not for retaining a glass fenestration in an opening in a building.
To ensure that the retaining device in accordance with the present invention provides simple means of securing the glass structural-section components at any desired height when fenestrating an opening in a building, the retaining device in one preferred embodiment is composed of glass structural-section components, especially glass U-section components, to be installed horizontal, whereby at least one retaining rail is installed vertical and designed to secure by tension and/or compression the glass structural-section component s that the glass structural-section components are retained by or rest against. This embodiment features a retaining section for securing by tension and/or compression, especially by way of hammerhead screws or of similar threaded fasteners, a metal structural-section securing section and at least one metal flat section for the lateral guidance or support of the glass structural-section components and/or the glass fenestration. The flat section and the securing section are fastened together by way of the heat-insulating and/or thermally separating connecting fixture.
The vertical and appropriately cross-sectioned retaining rail allows the height of the glass structural-section component holder to be continuously varied. The same retaining device can accordingly retain various glass fenestrations with glass structural-section components of different heights. It is also possible to construct the particular glass fenestration being retained out of glass structural-section components of different widths, of different heights, that is, as installed. The securing section and the flange section are metal for reasons of appearance and/or stability. In particular when closing off openings in a building and in the case of parallel spaces created by glass structural-section components, such metal rails could lead to misting up of the glass structural-section components due to the condensation of water on the inner surfaces of the components. It has, surprisingly, been demonstrated that fabricating the metal sections and thermally insulating them will at least extensively eliminate such misting. Thermal insulation will also of course lead to better k""s in the glass fenestration retained by the retaining device.
Further advantageous embodiments of the present invention are addressed in the subsidiary claims. A retaining rail for use in a retaining device in accordance with the present invention is the subject of the ancillary claim.
Since the connecting fixture is intended for thermally separating the securing section from the flange section, all metal heat bridging should be avoided. The connecting fixture should accordingly be of a poorly heat-conducting material. The retaining section or securing section must on the other hand be able to withstand to some extent considerable forces, necessitating a very strong connecting between the flange section and the retaining or securing section. The connecting fixture in one advantageous embodiment of the present invention accordingly comprises a double or triple web or at least two connecting webs of a poorly heat-conducting material, especially plastics-based, extending along the length of the retaining rail and separated from each other at a right angle to that length. The connecting fixture and preferably the double web or connecting webs will also preferably be of polyamide or with a core of polyamide. The advantage of polyamide is that it can be coated subsequently along with the metal sections in accordance with the desired surface of the overall retaining rail. The retaining rail, comprising the retaining section and at least one and preferably two flange sections can accordingly be fabricated and subsequently coated in accordance with the desired appearance of the visible areas. The flange section and/or the retaining section, the aforesaid securing section for instance, will in this event be aluminum.
The retaining section can be of tubing or of another type of structural section reinforced by two walls. When the retaining section is a securing section it will preferably be of C section to allow the head of a threaded fastener to easily engage its back. It will be of advantage when employing tensioning for security to employ heads that can be appropriately oriented for insertion through the gap in the C and rotated 90xc2x0 to engage the section.
To guide both sides of the glass structural-section component and/or the glass fenestration, comprising for example two lengths of glass structural section with their webs together, composed thereof, and in particular to retain it in the building opening that is to be fenestrated, one preferred embodiment includes two flange sections that extend along both sides of the retaining section, each connected to it by a connecting fixture.
To fasten the metal sections of the retaining rail securely together, it will also be preferable for the connection between the connecting fixture and the particular metal section to be established by engagement of the other side of the hooked edge of an accommodating groove in one of the components involved in the connection by an appropriately cross-sectioned head or end on the other component. It will be preferable in this case for every connecting web in the ends facing the metal section to be more or less T-shaped or otherwise thicker to provide rear engagement for an appropriate C-sectional accommodating groove for each connecting web in the section being connected.
It will also be preferable for the embodiment of the retaining device in accordance with the present invention employed for horizontal glass fenestrations to provide at least one glass structural-section component holder for each glass structural-section component or pair of glass structural-section components to be secured. It will be preferable to provide a retaining device at both vertical edges of the building opening being fenestrated, so that each horizontal glass structural-section component can rest on a glass structural-section component holder at each end. Glass structural-section component holders for retaining the ends of glass structural-section components can preferably be tensioned and hence secured at any desired height by means of at least one threaded fastener, especially a hammerhead screw, each on the C cross-sectional securing section.
It may, now, happen that glass fenestrations of different thickness must be installed in accordance with the on-site situation. It has until now always been necessary to fabricate special structural section, which is really expensive. Retaining devices for particularly thick glass fenestrations, like TWD (transparent heat-insulated glass fenestration) fenestrations are because of their special fabrication, really expensive to manufacture. This problem is eliminated in accordance with a particularly advantageous embodiment of the retaining device in accordance with the present invention. In this advantageous embodiment of the present invention, the retaining device is adjusted to glass fenestrations of different thickness not by fabricating special structural section but by using longer or shorter connecting fixtures. The connecting fixtures are again as hereintofore specified preferably based on plastics and are readily available in various lengths. Depending on whether a shorter connecting fixture or a somewhat longer connecting fixture is employed to connect the flange section to the retaining section, the distance between these two sections will be longer or shorter. Flange, retaining, or securing sections of metal structural section can always be fabricated equal and stocked by the manufacturer. Depending on the builder""s specific requirements or on the particular glass fenestration to be retained, the appropriate metal structural sections, i.e. retaining sections and flange sections, can be fastened together by connecting fixtures of appropriate length, e.g. longer or shorter double webs or multiple connecting webs. This particularly advantageous embodiment of the present invention accordingly ensures that the width of the retaining section will match the thickness of the glass fenestration being retained and that at least one matching connecting fixture can be selected from several of varying length.
Another particularly preferred embodiment of the present invention features a set of several retaining rails comprising an essentially U cross-sectional retaining rail designed for strictly lateral support with rectangular structural section as a retaining area adjacent to the face areas of the glass fenestration but with no supporting function, a T-sectional, H-sectional, or I-sectional retaining rail as a middle strut in a glass fenestration or to separate two glass fenestrations, and a lower, retaining rail that is provided on its lower surface, the surface facing away from the building""s fenestration, with supporting components. These supporting components are themselves preferably supporting strips, of either simple straight section, I-sectional, or extending out in the form of vertical webs, that is, L-sectional, or T-sectional.
The retaining rail in accordance with the present invention, which is designed for use in a retaining device of the species hereintofore specified, is particularly characterized by a polygonally cross-sectional or, for the tensioned securing of glass structural-section component holders by means of hammerhead screws, C-sectional, retaining or securing section of metal, by at least one projecting flange of metal for the lateral guidance or support of glass structural-section components and/or the glass fenestration composed thereof on the side facing the glass fenestration that the glass structural-section component holder can optionally be applied to, and by a connecting fixture preferably comprising a double web or at least two connecting webs that fasten the two metal sections together thermally separate.